Eunice Kennedy Shriver-A great Hero : GREAT WOMEN SERIES

Eunice Kennedy Shriver's influence has no bounds. Her work and activism on behalf of those Who would probably not have received it otherwise cannot be quantified. When Her brother-My Hero President John F. Kennedy was President, She was a major influence in His being the First President to really shed light and cast awareness on the plight of Mentally Challenged People. Eunice, Your efforts are so Christ-Like. You are A HERO to Me.

Julie & Julia-Review # 11

Julie & Julia is a film that is first and foremost about Love, I think. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart said: "Neither a Lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of Genius. Love, Love, Love-That is the Soul of Genius". Julia Child needed to find a passion-a love in Paris at the close of WWII. Her husband is certainly the most important person in Her world, but She needed something to occupy her. Childless and frustrated, She tried her hand at millinery among other things. But when Julia Child decided to tangle with the Boys in a competitive cooking class (in which the competition was made more stiff due to the population of returning soldiers-and a contrary school head), She learned more than She even did before that SHE LOVES FOOD!!!! She found her niche and Her passion. Unpolished as She was, Her status as a meticulous authority and author of her famous book(s) is legendary. Nothing less than a "cooking/food/taste scientist", She wanted to create something that would open up the exclusive world of French Cooking/Cuisine up to English speaking (mostly American) Housewives more than it had ever been. She developed the expert feel for this art with much research and hard work. She could be curt and authoritative, but She had earned that right. This fascinating story of Child's is paralleled and intertwined with the story of Julie Powell-a woman with a government job and a need to follow through with something-anything. A suggestion from Her Husband to start a blog becomes a mission to stay focused. But then it becomes so much more. Her Love for food leads her to invite the blogging world (at the very least the readers that followed Her) to read Her blog entries each day for a Year as She determined to go through and complete each recipe in the Most famous book of Julia's-Mastering The Art of French Cooking. She gave an honest account of Her Triumphs and Melt-Downs in this Year-Long quest. Her blog gained a faithful following. This kind of intertwining of two People's lives in a film screenplay is kind of similar to what was done in another Film -The Hours. (Meryl Streep-Who, of course plays the role of Child is also in The Hours). But the difference is that this story of Child and Powell being intertwined is based on the true story of Child's and Powell as she completed each recipe in Child's Book. That gives a satisfying aspect to the film from the get-go.

First of all, Streep is NEVER less than a Revelation. Her perfection as an actress knows no bounds. From mimicking Child's distinctive voice and nailing just about any other of Child's famous and recognizable idiosyncrasies to Her adept comic timing, Streep fills the role of Child unsurprisingly with flair and a comedic zing that is delightful. Stanley Tucci as Paul Child is in good form. There is a nice, warm chemistry between Streep and Tucci. They have worked together before, of course, but I think that this is their finest film together. Amy Adams as Powell is DELIGHTFUL. There is something always gentle and inviting about Adams. She definitely brings the Film along with Her own formidable talent. She, too is hilarious in many scenes. That is one thing that I LOVE about this movie. The important Historical themes and issues along with Philosophical ones of this film are rich-and the comedic parts of this film are MANY and really frost the cake. Streep is always so subtle and understated as an actress with dramatic elements that one feels the wallop without being beaten over the head with them. (A scene dealing with Child's sister announcing by Post that She is expecting a child-and the issue of Child not having any children is a case in point.) Yes-the acting is fabulous. The Prodigious talent of Nora Ephron as a Writer, Producer, and Director is Again Manifest in this film. It is excellent work all the way around. (Ephron teamed with Julie Powell to write the screenplay based on Powell's book of the same title-along with using info. from Bios of Child.) Costuming is GREAT. I see maybe an Oscar nod for Ann Roth in that category! I, of course, won't be surprised to see Streep and maybe even Adams nominated. Nice Stuff. So Yeah. Love. The most touching aspect of the film is the Love that Julie Powell feels for Child-this woman that She felt so akin to-Her cooking Sensai in a BIG way (Even though it was just through Julia's recipe/instruction books). Both women-so thorough and precise-this teaching all that One can be thorough and precise no matter their circumstance; That one can acheive excellence despite drawbacks. It takes just the will, the desire, the FOCUS.......THE LOVE. Do Your Homework. Pick what You LOVE and do it. You will never be sorry-and LOVE the journey finding what that is no matter how long that takes. I give this film 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Thanks, Kazzy for a Kaz-Tastic time! :-)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Review #10

Why was it done to us? November 2008 was the slated release date of this anticipated Film adaptation of J.K. Rowling's sixth in her masterpiece series-But alas, We were forced to wait for eight more months. Torture. But finally, it is here. Here is my Review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. SPOILER ALERT.

The problem with creating a Film adaptation for these books is the same problem that was had with the Chronicles of Narnia films. There is just no real way to do the books full justice in a Film. Something must be left out. (I feel that for this reason especially, The Fourth Film installment-Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is by far the weakest film adaptation so far in this series-I mean, Where is Winkie, Ludo Bagman, The Whole issue of S.P.E.W? ) But, on the other hand, as I have said in my review of The Chronicles of Narnia:Prince Caspian, I itch with curiosity to see what others can make of these stories; and what light they shed on the characters. That is the main issue that I have with adapting this kind of literature to a Feature film. Can there really be the kind of character development that these characters deserve? Having said that, The character of Albus Dumbledore has become one of the most beloved and Iconic characters in all of Fantasy Fiction-if not Fiction. His complexity and humanity has a Yin-Yang kind of juxtaposition with his serene swagger and self-awareness . He is a character that accepts the need for self-correction, but is not unaware of His abilities. As the title character, Harry Potter relies on Dumbledore heavily. There is plenty of trauma and drama for Dumbledore in this film. If You have read the book, You know that well. *Sigh* Many were in uproar at Jo Rowling for "doing that" to Dumbledore. Soooooo How did Daniel Radcliffe(Potter) and Michael Gambon(Dumbledore) do? VERY Well, I think. Gambon did better in this film than any other He has acted in in this series. I was VERY impressed. (I have to admit that I think that Richard Harris-the first to play Dumbledore in the series-fits the role better in My opinion. He oozes the serenity that I picture Dumbledore having. But the crucial cave scene was hit DEAD-ON by Gambon, Who I think has generally played the part a bit too rough.)

The relationship of Harry and Dumbledore is rich and poigniant. An Eternal Friendship. As Dumbledore faces His difficult challenge in the cave, He reminds us of this. The quotes "I am safe with You, Harry", "Your blood is more precious than Mine", and "Once again, I must ask too much of You, Harry" shows the respect and esteem that Dumbledore holds for Him. The cave scene set my mind spinning. Knowing the story in advance-(having read all the Books and proudly owning them) makes me analyze Dumbledore this way: Maybe taking Harry to the spot where the pivotal scene takes place in the cave was SELFISH of Dumbledore? Does having all this set up the way He did mean in some way at least that Dumbledore escaped his demons by taking an Easy way out? Hard to think of it that way for those who Love Dumbledore's character, I am sure. A man of style that orchestrates his own circumstance maybe was just not able to face what He knew was coming for him. He could not endure it to the end of that particular trial. But that is the Genius of these stories. They are a study of Human Nature. Of course Rowling wanted these kinds of questions raised in our minds.

Anyway, Enough of that. I am here to review a movie. The acting was fabulous. All main characters were acted well. Tom Felton has just grown perfectly in the role as Draco. And
I REALLY liked Jim Broadbent as Slughorn. He is a great character actor. Physically He wasn't as I pictured Slughorn, but He was fabulous in the role. Evanna Lynch as Luna (One of My MOST favorite characters) is a total delight. There was not Enough of Her or Tonks (-Another Most Favorite character). :'-( Of course, Helena Bonham Carter also does NOT get enough time on screen. She is eerie and dangerously perfect as Bellatrix. ( UGH! Again, that is the problem. Not enough time for character development in feature length films for this kind of adaptation! Am I repeating Myself?) Of course, this is to say nothing of My greatest Harry Potter crush, SEVERUS SNAPE! (Well, there is Regulus Black, too. But I await HIM in the NEXT film. ) ;-) Rickman is beyond DIVINE. The Cinematography is FABULOUS to look at. A visual treat. Cinematographic processDigital Intermediate (2K) (master format)IMAX Digital 3-D (some scenes) (IMAX version)Super 35 (source format) . Steve Kloves adapted the book to screenplay, and did quite a good job. (As I said, He did a MUCH better adaptation for this film than He did for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.) David Yates, who also directed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix stepped it up a notch. Well done. There was a palpable eeriness to the film. The mood was set perfectly. It created the feeling I had reading the Book as well as a Film could, I think. The Main three Actors(Radcliffe as Harry, Rupert Grint as Ron, and Emma Watson as Hermione) have a great chemistry.
Best Harry Potter film Yet BY FAR!!!!! :-D
3 out of 4 stars.
Yay-I saw it! :-) Thanks, Aunt and Hen! ♥

Reminded of Courage While"Thelma and Louising" with Kaz, Marsha, and Tiffany!

I think that Courage is the most baffling and amazing quality. The kind of Courage that I am thinking of is the kind that is used to prove Devotion-True Belief. It is quite Polarizing for someone to use this kind of Courage, because it often must be used outside the "normal" realm of reason. It doesn't Help win any Popularity contests, that is for sure. Anyway...........I was really happy to go on a trip-a road trip-back East with My Dear Friend Karen and Wonderful, Newly-Made Friends Tiffany and Marsha; and this trip is what inspired these thoughts about Courage.

Here they are:


Courage to Show Faith and Devotion : JOSEPH SMITH

The Prophet Joseph Smith is an Exemplar and an Enigma to Me. I know that He is a Prophet. Why would anyone do all that He did unless they are TRULY convinced? Still, all that He did for the Church and His Belief in God took SUPREME Courage; But I also want to talk of His bravery all along, and how this is The Quality of His Person-The Courage He has always Showed in ALL instances . I think of Joseph Getting Bone hacked out of His leg as a Boy-Refusing Spirits for Relief, and Trusting that His father was comfort Enough-Both His Heavenly Father and Joseph Sr. as Joseph Sr. held and comforted Young Joseph through the surgery. I think of Him trying to deal with the daily stress that He dealt with When He was filled with anxiety about the Sacred Plates that He was entrusted with. Hiding Places. Getting Help. Rude, Lashing Comments-and Horrific acts against Him by Evil disposed Mobs, and on top of that- Stress that In-Laws weren't warmed up to Him at First. Family Hardships, Betrayals, .... Joseph is AMAZING.

Here is the Kirtland Temple that Joseph asked the Saints to Help Build. Courageous work and Sacrifice went into this building!

Here are More Cool sites in Church History that We Visited including the Temples that We saw!!!

A First Edition Copy of the Book of Mormon at the Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center. :-)

The Historic Johnson Residence Where the 76th Section of the D&C was Received By Joseph.
This one is SO important to Church History-The Newell K. Whitney Store!

The St. Louis Temple

Palmyra, NY Temple

Columbus, OH Temple

Nauvoo Temple

COURAGE AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS BATTLE: JOHN F. KENNEDY

Me Where Kennedy Lived-TOO COOL!!!!! Wish I could Have toured inside!!!!!! :-/

Yes. It is true. Many have tried to defame, but that is what the Courageous deal with. Kennedy is not given the credit that He deserves for his Brave and Unyielding Stance on Civil Rights. He is the FIRST President to Issue a study on the status of Women's Rights and the Equal Pay issue! Further, In an interview He stated that He was "Delighted" to have Daughter Caroline, and said that Women's abilities to serve their countries were equal to Men, and that Equally Great things could be expected of Women. He believed a Woman would one day be President.

These were NOT popular views, but Kennedy Stood Fast in support for Progressive Civil Rights Legislation and Voting Rights. Without Him, these things would not gone ahead as they did.


Here is an awesome Pic of the Lincoln Memorial where Dr. King gave his "I Have A Dream" Speech.

I am SO glad to Have been able to take this Pic! Thanks, Kaz For Letting Me Go! :-)

And FINALLY...............

Courage in the face of Snoring!!!!

Dear Marsha....She is Not addressing the Snoring issue as this Pic is taken, but I can tell You that the body language in this Photo is Pretty close to what it would be if She expressed Her feelings about the Snoring -My Snoring. :-/

*All Photos are Taken By Me in this Blog Entry Except, of Course, The Pictures of The Prophet Joseph Smith and President Kennedy with Dr. King.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! ♥

I thought I would Post these Pictures to wish My Dear Dad a Happy Father's Day! The bottom pic, of course, is of Me as a Tot with Dad.

FAMILY HOME EVENING WITH GWEN STEFANI-EXCEEDING ALL EXPECTATIONS!!!!!

THERE'S "No DOUBT" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was one of the Best and Most Surreal experiences EVER!
Gwen Gracing a Screen!

Gwen in Awesome form. I was so EXCITED to film this vid!!!!! WATCH THIS!!!!! :-D I think I did a good job!

;-)

Kay. First of all, this has been the BEST CONCERT EVER. As the title of this entry says, The No Doubt concert EXCEEDED ALL EXPECTATIONS. What a night. This will always be a treasured Experience-FOREVER! Before I recount the fabulous happenings, I need to thank People for this Experience. MOM...THANKS! :'-D WOW. The best thing ever. CLIFF And JENNA, thanks for letting Me and Mom use Your PayPal!!! You two give new meaning to the term "PayPal"!!!!! :-D KATE......THANKS FOR THE RIDE!!!!!!!! It could NOT have happened without You! I OWE YA! EM.................THANKS FOR JUMPING UP AND DOWN IN PLACE LIKE A MANIAC WITH ME!

Me and Em inside the E Center-Excitement palpable!!!!! I think that Paramore was still performing.

O.K. Here are Pics and Highlights!!!!!! :


Excitement could NEVER more palpable at any concert for Me than this. A really nice tall Lady that was Dressed as Gwen stood By Me and Em for a while, and took this pic for Me. When the sihlouettes first showed as Gwen and the Boys were announced, THINGS WERE HAPPY BEDLAM! We were all "out of control". X-D

AWESOME HAIR, HUH?????????

Ohhhhhhhhhh Man. How COOL IS SHE?????????????????????? AMAZING ENERGY!

Things that happened at the concert that were AWESOME: (ERRR...The WHOLE THING WAS AWESOME!)

1. The audience sang "Happy Birthday" to Gwen's darling son Kingston James. :-D What a cool thing! That kid is ADORABLE!!!!!♥ Gwen brought him on stage and Held him as we all sang! Too bad My batteries ran out of juice before this happened! X'-(

2. I was hit on the shoulder by a water bottle that Gwen threw-(YES, GWEN HERSELF!) into the audience along with t-shirts and stuff. The sad thing is that I didn't get the momento.

:-( Some lady snatched it before I could grab it right as it hit Me! X-( Needless to say this was not at all dangerously done or painful-Welll.....It actually is painful -There's the memory of the bottle that Gwen threw and hit Me with that got away!!!!!! UGH!

x'-/

3. The Drummer Guy Adrian Young wore a TUTU! LOL! Sorry-I didn't get a pic :-P LOL. I prefer guys to be in stuff other than Tutus, but Adrian is ALWAYS ENTERTAINING.
He has rather a Punkish look that exceeds all others in ND-Here is a pic of darling Adrian that shows that he is one to dress to the HILT. This Picture is a post from the official No Doubt Site taken before a TV appearance-of course it isn't by Me. This is the only pic I didn't take (Well, there were the tall People that Helped Me)besides the official pic of the group that I posted at the top-that, too is from the official site and ND Web FanClub, of course.

4. Gwen is so kind to People. There was a darling little girl that she called out of the audience to come up on stage. The girl was dressed to the hilt as Gwen Herself. The girl had the thrill that will never leave her as Gwen hugged her and made her feel FAB meeting her fave singer and fashionista, ........GWEN, OF COURSE. Awwwwww, Man. :-)

5. I will always fondly think of the moment when Gwen asked only the Men in the audience to sing "I'm just a Girl" along with her! LOL
That was beyond awesome-especially when she went in Riot-Girl mode after and all the Ladies sang it!!!!!!! :-D AHHHHHHHHH....SISTAHHOOD!

Finally.......Stuff For the Scrapbook, etc!!!!!!!

My ticket, wristband,and the cool shirt My Buddy Em bought for ME!!!! EM, YOU ROCK!!!! The two pics below that: Back view of my shirt, and a better front view pic.